How do cleaning companies ensure that they do a quality job?

So you’ve taken the leap and hired a cleaning service to clean your home. How will your new cleaning crew ensure that they’ve done a great job and that you are happy with their service?

The number one reason people drop their cleaning company or switch to a new one is due to a decrease in the quality of their house cleaning they receive over time. Customers love that first cleaning; it was spectacular! But then they feel that the quality went downhill from there. An experienced, professional cleaning company will give a lot of attention to doing a good job for you and will verify your satisfaction over and over because they don’t want to lose your business. When you ask your cleaning company about their quality control program, you should expect to hear something similar to ours.

Here are some specific steps we take:

• Train all yours cleaners to clean your home following our proven method to consistently deliver a high quality cleaning. We never assume that a new employee can clean well. Our new hires study our cleaning techniques and practice them in different scenarios, working closely with one of our certified trainers. Residential cleaning business all over the U.S. and Canada come to us to learn our Perfect Maintenance Cleaning methods so that they can improve their quality and efficiency. Our owner literally wrote the Perfect Maintenance Cleaning book that professional services use to train their cleaners.
• Do house checks. Members of our management team perform random house inspections after a home has been cleaned so that every cleaner’s work is checked periodically. We’ll provide feedback or recommend additional training, if necessary.
• Make it easy for customers to tell us how we’re doing. We encourage comments and offer three ways to reach us: text, phone call, and email. We also leave behind a quality score sheet or comment card at every cleaning. All feedback is reviewed by our Operations Manager who shares it with our cleaners directly—both the compliments and the opportunities for improvement. We believe that it’s our job—not the customers’—to give employee feedback caringly and constructively.
• Act on any complaints we receive. Any complaints we get will guide the steps we take to re-train our cleaners or to remove them from our business if re-training fails.

Hiring: What Traits to Look For

In the beginning of your business, “the right people” are most likely to be you and any business partners you start your company with. It’s harder to hand off the cleaning work to someone else when you’re starting out. We really had to do it ourselves in the beginning while we got the hang of our business and worked out our hiring process.

If you’re busy enough that you need to hire staff, here are the traits you should look for when hiring.

Previous Cleaning Experience

You can lose a lot of time and money training people who are new to cleaning and who might quit after a few months. It’s very physical, and it’s just hard for some people. Although you’ll probably need to hire some people who don’t have a lot of experience, try to look for people who do have cleaning experience and even want to make a career out of it. They already know how to do the job, they already understand what hard work it is, and they already know they like cleaning.

Independent, Self-Motivated and Hard-Working

Cleaners go out into the field on their own, so housecleaning is a job for people who are highly independent and self-motivated. You definitely need people who like to work on their own, because you are working alone most of the time. You might have a partner, but you’re not working side by side. So your staff need to be comfortable working alone and able to do their work without a supervisor standing over their shoulder. They also need to be able to work hard physically, because the job is physically demanding.

Friendliness

Although your ideal cleaners are the kind of people who are comfortable working alone, it’s still important that they’re friendly too, as quite often they will communicate with clients on your behalf. In many ways, your cleaners are the face of your company—to your clients, they are the company. It’s essential that they make a good impression.

Commitment to the Job and Loyalty to the Clients

Your staff must be able to commit to showing up every day without the other commitments in their lives getting in the way. You have to be committed to serving your clientele,” says Katie. “If you don’t show up, there’s nobody else who can step in. I had a few staff with such a high level of commitment that they would genuinely be upset if they got sick. They felt bad that their clients that day weren’t going to get their houses cleaned.

Training Tips to Get Your Cleaning Service Employees on the Right Track

Now that they’re hired, it’s likely that the majority of applicants for entry-level cleaning jobs will need training. This isn’t necessarily a disadvantage; in fact, you may prefer to handle this yourself since hiring individuals without professional cleaning experience lets you train them to clean your way.

If you think you can’t afford to spend time on training, think again–can you afford not to adequately train your employees? Do you really want them interacting with customers or cleaning homes and offices when you haven’t told them how you want things done?

These tips will help you maximize your training efforts:

• Find out how people learn best. Delivering training isn’t a one-size-fits-all proposition. People absorb and process information differently, and your training method needs to be compatible with their individual preferences. Some people can read a manual, others prefer a verbal explanation, and still others need to see a demonstration. In a group training situation, your best strategy is to use a combination of methods; when you’re working one-on-one, tailor your delivery to fit the needs of the person you’re training.

• Use simulation and role-playing to train, practice and reinforce. One of the most effective training techniques is simulation, which involves showing an employee how to do something and then allowing them to practice it in a safe, controlled environment. If the task includes interpersonal skills, let the employee role play with a co-worker to practice what they should say and do in various situations.

• Be a strong role model. Don’t expect more from your employees than you’re willing to do. You’re a good role model when you do things the way they should be done all the time. Don’t take shortcuts you don’t want your employees to take or behave in any way that you don’t want them to behave. On the other hand, don’t assume that simply doing things the right way is enough to teach others how to do things. Role modeling is not a substitute for training. It reinforces training. If you only role model but never train, employees aren’t likely to get the message.

• Look for training opportunities. Once you get beyond basic orientation and job skills training, you need to constantly be on the lookout for opportunities to enhance the skills and performance levels of your people.

• Make it real. Whenever possible, use real-life situations to train–but avoid letting customers know they’ve become a training experience for employees.

• Anticipate questions. Don’t assume that employees know what to ask. In a new situation, people often don’t understand enough to formulate questions. Anticipate questions and answer them in advance.

Give Your Employees the Power to Upgrade Customer Service

Although ensuring a thorough cleaning job is the best way to provide excellent customer service, your employees should feel confident in going above and beyond. By allowing your staff to give your clients “extras,” such as a complimentary carpet deep clean or a ten percent discount, you are increasing their ability to deliver amazing service.

Your cleaning business training should also include tactics for providing great customer service, such as:

– Taking notes on client preferences and passing those along to team members.

– Having answers to client questions.

– Returning phone calls, emails, and other correspondence promptly.

– Allowing time gaps between jobs to minimize arriving late to a task or needing to leave early to be on time elsewhere.

– Showing up to the job in uniform and with all the necessary tools and equipment (plus backups as necessary.)

How to prepare for your first professional house cleaning experience

From a couple of must-dos, to treating your house cleaner with respect; here is everything you need to know about being fully prepared for your first house cleaning service by a professional maid.

Don’t Let Anything Get in Your Cleaner’s Way

You can’t expect your cleaning professional to do a satisfactory job if they haven’t been given a fair chance to do so. In other words, it is your responsibility to ensure that there is no clutter or untidiness around the house that will hinder their cleaning process. This means picking up stuff from the floor and tidying up surfaces so that they can be cleaned efficiently.

It should be noted that some cleaning services include tasks that go beyond basic tidying up; however, for those that do not, it conveys a certain level of respect when you do your bit to make the cleaner’s job a little easier. Moreover, the help you hire should not feel like they are being taken advantage of when doing things that aren’t part of their job description become a habit.

Give Clear and Concise Instructions

A professional maid understands that their job is to clean your house; however, every home and family is unique and therefore, the requirements differ. Along with this, you may have a set of rules or boundaries that you would like the cleaner to follow such as knocking before entering a bedroom or bathroom.

Along with this, some homeowners have specific preferences where home cleaning is concerned; for example, you can request for the use of eco-friendly cleaning products or simply supply the hired professional with your choice of cleaners. This, of course, is something that should be discussed with the professional prior to their arrival. If you have any other instructions, be clear and concise when politely explaining them to the cleaner.

Put Valuables Away

Firstly, it pays to hire a maid from a reputable cleaning agency wherein employees are thoroughly vetted, as well as insured and bonded. On the other hand, from a cleaner’s perspective, they are not always comfortable working in a house where money or valuables are left lying around. This is because if you were to misplace something of value, they are likely to be the first ones to get blamed.

This is particularly true when a homeowner is hiring help for the first time, or dealing with a new maid. In other cases where clients and cleaners have formed a strong bond or close relationship over a long period of time, this doesn’t become a problem. Having said that, when hiring the services of a professional maid, it is your responsibility to make the cleaner feel comfortable on every occasion, and this includes securing valuables.

How to Choose a Home Cleaning Service

Between personal, professional, and social obligations, it can be hard to trade in leisure time for furniture polish and a pair of latex gloves. If you’re finding your schedule overstuffed, one way to reclaim some of your time is by hiring a cleaning service. In this post by Yusuf Mehmetoglu of Maid Bright, a Northern Virginia Best Pick, he discusses best practices for selecting a cleaning service. There are a number of things to consider when choosing a house cleaner, such as whether to hire an independent cleaner or a company. “Each option carries its own advantages and disadvantages,” writes Yusuf. He stresses being prepared to ask questions to ensure that the company or individual is the right fit for you in terms of cost, services offered, scheduling, and more. “Before the scheduled estimate, you should come up with your questions to ask during that time,” says Yusuf. By doing a little bit of research and preparation beforehand, you can be confident you’re selecting a company that best suits your needs

Hiring an Individual versus Company

The first step is to make a decision regarding the hiring of an individual person versus a company. Each option carries its own advantages and disadvantages. Hiring individuals is more cost effective, can be more customized to your needs; however, that individual person can be less responsive if the person gets more business than they can handle. If for one or more reasons they do not show up, you are on your own. On the other hand, hiring a cleaning company can be more costly, which has substantial benefits. They can offer flexible scheduling, offering a back up team to cover anybody that may not show up.

Where to Start

Finding the right individual or company can be a daunting task for many people. People are often hesitant about having someone whom they do not know in their home, even if it is to meet their need. One of the best ways to hire a cleaning service is through the referrals of friends, family or neighbors. You can also do an online search by reading reviews and weighing your options. Lastly, you can take advantage of promotional items such as coupons, mailings and fliers

How much will it cost?

Most cleaning services charge an hourly rate for the initial visit. You can always put a cap on the estimated hours to avoid any unwanted costs. The estimator can give you an approximate time of how long the service will take. Cleaning services will give you a flat rate for each subsequent visit depending on the condition of your property, needs and how often you will need the service.

Do you conduct background checks?

Most reputable services perform background checks on all of their employees. When you hire an independent cleaner, you act as their employer; therefore making you responsible for doing any background screenings. Background screenings ensure the safety of you and your home by enabling you to know who is entering your home.

House Cleaning Tips

In today’s world many people have fast paced lifestyles and the last thing they want to do with there downtime is clean their home. Professional house cleaning service is an option that is being used by more households in an effort to save time for more important things. That being said the old adage “good help is hard to find” is still true. These simple reminders can assist with the task of finding the right cleaning service for you.

Responsiveness – This is one of the first indicators of a good professional house cleaning service. If you have difficulty in getting in contact with them for information about their services, then it is most likely going to be difficult to contact them once service has begun. The time in which it takes them to respond to your questions in regards to service details or getting a quote can give you an idea of how reliable they will be in the long term.

Licensed bonded and Insured – This may be the most important thing to look for when it comes to choosing the best maid service to clean your home. Most individuals or independent contractors do not offer insurance, so while their prices may be lower it puts you at risk when they clean your home. Reputable companies have policies in place that cover any damage that may take place during the cleaning as well as any missing items. These policies offer both you and the company protection and peace of mind. When calling for quotes it is important to ask the service if they are licensed and bonded

Look at reviews – Social media and online review websites have made the task of finding the right cleaning service easier than it is has ever been. When trying to determine which service might be the right fit take the time to read reviews on a variety of platforms. Reviews will give you a good idea of the type of quality you can expect from a professional cleaning service

Ask about equipment – Some professional house keeping services bring their own supplies while others expect the homeowner to provide them. When looking for a maid service it is best to find one that uses products that fit the needs of you and your family. For example if you have children or pets it may be best to go with a company that offers a green option. This will help prevent exposure to harsh chemicals.

What should I look for when choosing a housekeeper?

Look for good maids first

It is important to find out whether or not the house cleaning service you are considering is certified and insured. Certification ensures that the housekeeping service’s staff is fully trained and will provide you the best quality service, while an insured company will be able to compensate you in the event of any mishaps or accidents. It is highly recommended that the service you hire vets the maids that it employs. By performing background checks on its employees, a house cleaning service ensures that the people entering your home conform to a strict set of criteria. In short, you can be sure you’re not unwittingly allowing a criminal into your home.

Find the right range of housekeeping services

A full housecleaning service should provide dusting, vacuuming, dishwashing, changing bed linens, cleaning and disinfecting your kitchen and bathroom, and sometimes laundry (washing, drying, and ironing). The range of services that each housekeeping company provides varies. If washing and ironing clothes is a service that you require, you’ll need to make sure the company you’re hiring provides it. On the other hand, you’ll want to make sure you are not paying for services you don’t need. If you put the dishes in the dishwasher every night, you might not want to include that service in your cleaning contract.

How To Choose A Domestic Cleaner

When it comes to choosing a domestic cleaner there are few very important things you should consider:

– Is the cleaner vetted and checked

– Is the cleaner insured

– Is the hourly charge competitive

– What standard of the cleaning you can expect

– Is a replacement cleaner provided

Use only vetted cleaners

No matter what option you are going for, you should always make sure the cleaner is vetted and checked. Cleaning companies offer checked and vetted cleaners and it is always safer to use an agency when it comes to letting a stranger into your house. If you use a cleaner through recommendation you can also feel safe that the person who comes to your house is not a complete stranger Choosing a private cleaner from an advertisement or other online recourses is a bit tricky so always make sure you do the necessary checks beforehand.

Insured cleaners

Insurance is the second most important thing you should ask for when you hire a cleaner. Accidents happen and you want to be protected. Most cleaning companies offer insured service. Make sure that either the cleaner or the cleaning company they are sent through are insured so you can have a peace of mind. If you hire a cleaner through a cleaning company always read their terms and conditions to check what exactly their insurance cover and if there is one in the first place. Some cleaning companies may have appealing rates and flexible terms, but their service is actually not insured at all.

Cleaning standards

When it comes to performance and results, there are different expectations and you can’t always define which service is good and which is excellent. Some people prefer the cleaner to be more initiative, while others want the cleaner to do only what they ask them to do. However, there is a big difference between good and excellent cleaner in terms of execution of the service. The excellent cleaner will always move any items to clean underneath and will always mop or hoover the floor even if it looks clean.  While the average cleaner can clean around objects, not moving everything and simply do a good job without paying special attention on each and one single detail. The house may look clean and can smell fresh in both cases, but you can always tell if the cleaner has touched every single inch of the house or have simply cleaned the visible parts only. Different people have different visions of cleanliness so how good or bad a cleaner is depend really on the client’s personal standards and expectations

Replacement cleaners

Being left without a cover while your cleaner is away is not the best option for you so always make sure there is a replacement cleaners available for these cases. Cleaning companies will always send a replacement when your cleaner is sick or on holiday. It might not necessarily be the best cleaner, but at least you will have someone to take care of the household chores.

How to Choose a Cleaning Company

When it comes to choosing a cleaning company, where do you start? We all want the best price but it’s important to choose a company who are reliable and professional, as well as being able to deliver value for money.

Professionalism in Cleaning Operatives

As a dynamic and growing cleaning company, professionalism is at the core of our business model. Our staff receive the support and training they require, allowing them to deliver the highest quality of service to our customers

Quality of Cleaning Staff

Our selection process is firm but fair. We need honest, hard working and reliable individuals, who want to be part of our successful cleaning company. Our retention rate is high and we continually look to expand our network of staff to handle increasing demand.

Total Cleaning Solution for Commercial Sector

SoClean provide a comprehensive range of cleaning services including daily office cleaning, weekly and monthly cleans for hotels and restaurants plus specialist cleaning solutions, including, graffiti removal, carpet and upholstery cleaning, stone cleaning, window cleaning and deep cleaning etc.

24/7 Cleaning to Suit Your Business

Some clients require us to work around the clock. Whatever the situation, we are confident in our abilities to meet the demands of your requirements, day or night.